Josephine Clardy Fox

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Josephine Marsalis Clardy Fox (August 13, 1881 - May 11, 1970) was an American businesswoman, musician, and philanthropist. Clardy Fox lived most of her life in El Paso, Texas, where she donated land to build a school and a library. As a young person, she studied fine music and toured the United States and Europe. Parts of her estate and collections were left to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

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Biography

Clardy Fox was born on August 13, 1881, in Liberty Township in Missouri, and was an only child. [1] [2] When she was one year old, her parents, Allie and Zeno, moved to El Paso, Texas, where her father worked as a lawyer. [3] She attended a religious school until 1891 and then entered public schools until 1895. [1] That year, she went to Hosmer Hall in St. Louis for finishing school. [1] In 1901, Josephine's father, Zeno died from a heart attack. [1] After his death, Clardy Fox went to Berkeley, California, where she could get better training in the fine arts. [4] She stayed with family friends and enrolled in a fine music school. [5] The next year, she went to New York where she studied voice with Emilio Agramonte. [1] She returned briefly to El Paso in 1902, where she performed as a soloist. [1] Then she went on to tour the United States and Europe. [1] One of the people traveling to Europe in 1908 with Josephine Clardy Fox was Eugene Emmett Fox, who she would later marry. [1] [6]

Josephine and Eugene married on January 20, 1916 in New York and made their home in El Paso. [1] When the Great Depression hit El Paso, the couple and Josephine's mother had difficult times. [7] Josephine helped her mother with the properties she managed in El Paso. [7] On April 2, 1934, Eugene died after suffering an accident on a train. [8] Josephine's mother died on March 23, 1940. [9]

During World War II, Josephine Clardy Fox donated her time towards the war effort. [10] She donated $1,000 to support the construction of the Southwestern Children's Home. [11] During the mid 1940s, she and William J. Elliott began to develop land once used to grow cotton. [12] Her real estate development grew her wealth. [12] In 1955, Josephine Clardy Fox sold land to create the Fox Plaza Shopping Center in El Paso. [1] In 1956, Clardy Fox donated land to the El Paso Independent School District to create a public school and in 1961, donated land for a public library in the El Paso Public Library system. [13]

In 1959, Clardy Fox broke her hip and again, in 1964, she broke the same hip. [13] After the second break, she spent the rest of her life in the Providence Memorial Hospital. [13] She died there on May 11, 1970. [13] Josephine Clardy Fox was buried in Evergreen Cemetery. [13] In her will, she left most of her estate to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). [13] This donation also included her extensive hat collection. [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Martinez & Rodarte 2011, p. 5.
  2. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 12.
  3. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 12-13.
  4. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 22.
  5. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 23.
  6. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 50.
  7. 1 2 Burns 1973, p. 74.
  8. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 83.
  9. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 87.
  10. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 91.
  11. ↑ Burns 1973, p. 94.
  12. 1 2 Curlee, Kendall. "Fox, Josephine Marsalis Clardy". Texas Handbook Online. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martinez & Rodarte 2011, p. 13.
  14. ↑ Davis, Mary Margaret (1982-08-10). "Donor's Collection Puts a Feather in UTEP's Hat". El Paso Times. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-24– via Newspapers.com.

Sources

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